March 2015 by Dara C
Was initially introduced to Land's Sake when seeking out pick-your-own flowers for a get-well-soon bouquet for a friend. The farm was a pleasant surprise, flowers were abundant; zinnia, dahlia, sunflowers, the biggest marigolds I'd ever seen, bachelor's buttons, anemones, amaranthus... A friendly staff-person handed me a bucket and a pair of clippers and sent me out into the flower fields. I made an amazing, colorful bouquet for really really cheap (I think it was .20 cents/stem? and $1.00/stem for sunflowers?). So, 50 flowers for $10.00. You can't beat that. If you're willing to do the labor yourself, it's worth it! I came back a second time to harvest flowers for a friend's wedding, and while the bees were a bit terrifying and intense, we got a lot of beautiful blooms.The following Summer, I checked with Land's Sake a few times about the availability of pick-your-own flowers, as information about it was pretty scarce on their website. I was told, in mid-July, that their flowers hadn't bloomed yet, and, since this was my umpteenth inquiry, gave up on the idea of picking there (went to Blue Heron Organic Farm instead).This year, now following Land's Sake on Facebook, I again check-in mid-July about pick-your-own flowers. I'm told the flowers will require another week or two before blooming. So, a week later, Land's Sake's Facebook page announces the arrival of "pick-your own green beans and sunflowers!", so I head to the farm to see what they have growing. On arrival at the farmstand, I inquire about the pick-your-own sunflowers they mentioned, and am told that the sunflowers are not pick-your-own but pre-cut. I inquire when pick-your-own flowers will be available, and am told that they are "holding the fields for a private event" and so pick-your-own flowers will be delayed. I see. I guess you need to be special to get access to the flower fields these days! I suspect they'll just phase out their pick-your-own flowers feature over time, based on the past couple of years. Such a shame! It was a nice option.***Update***I went back mid-August to give pick-your-own flowers another try, and found a very different situation! Fields were abundant with flowers and open to the public. A great selection of flowers, including zinnia, queen anne's lace, snapdragons, sunflowers, marigolds, bachelor buttons, lavender, and much more (see my photo of the bouquet I created). I was really impressed, all they need is to grow roses and lilies on-site and some brides could really DIY their wedding flowers here!The major issue is pricing. They charge .50/bloom, $1.00/large blooms, $1.50/sunflower. This means, a little sprig of lavender will cost you .50 as will a single, tiny bachelor button. Large blooms include zinnias/dahlias, so anything that'll really add volume to your bouquet will cost you a dollar apiece. So my bouquet was almost $20 ($19.13 with tax). While my bouquet was lovely, a supermarket bouquet will cost you about the same, be beautiful, and there won't be any labor involved. I enjoy the picking process so am still up for pick-your-own, but it's certainly not a lower-cost option at Land's Sake.